European airports top new World Consumer Airport Index

The Consumer Choice Center has released a new edition of the World Consumer Airport Index, ranking global airports based on various passenger-centric metrics. The index evaluates hubs using criteria such as direct access to metro or national rail services, ease of terminal connections, airline variety, average delays, and the presence of on-site hotels.

Bonus points are awarded to airports with security wait times under three minutes and those without nighttime curfews. The rankings are divided into two categories: large airports serving more than 47.2 million passengers annually and smaller airports serving fewer than that amount.

In the large airport category, Spain’s Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport took the top spot, noted for having average security wait times of just three minutes. In the smaller airport category, Germany’s Düsseldorf Airport ranked first, featuring almost instantaneous security processing.

Conversely, the worst-ranked large airports included Antalya, Guangzhou Baiyun, and Frankfurt. Among smaller airports, poor performers included Seoul Gimpo, Punta Cana, and London Stansted. Common issues cited for low rankings included extreme distances from city centers, lack of ride-hailing options, poor rail access, long security queues, and high delay rates.